Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The next day, Shen Juanjuan, with his teddy bear on his back, was doing homework at a small table, while Chu Ya was sewing a sandbag with the materials he had found. He stuffed silk cotton into a cloth bag, sewed it tightly shut, and hung it under the eaves with a thick rope.

Chu Ya tried it out, finding that the sandbag would neither hurt his hands nor fail to satisfy a six-year-old's needs. Turning around, he saw Shen Juanjuan peeking and beckoned him over: "Come here."

Shen Juanjuan walked over quickly. Chu Ya said, "When you're upset or want to vent, come and hit this."

"I don't want to hit this; I want to smash the sofa."

"You can't smash other things; you can only hit this," Chu Ya said.

"But I just want to hit the sofa, and use a chair to hit it."

"How did I explain it to you on the way? The sandbag is meant to be hit." Chu Ya paused, pulling out the finger Shen Juanjuan had been sucking, "Don't put your fingers in your mouth."

Shen Juanjuan pressed his wet finger against his clothes.

"Don't wipe it on your clothes!"

"Then what should I do?"

A familiar heat rose within Shen Juanjuan, making him feel very uncomfortable, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

"Always can't, can't, can't." His voice grew louder, angrily saying, "You tell me to hit it, so I won't hit it."

Chu Ya didn't respond, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers. He glanced sideways at Shen Juanjuan, who said, "I won't hit it; I want to hit the sofa."

Chu Ya glanced at him, noticing the flush on his face and the rapid rise and fall of his chest, instantly understanding. He quickly stepped aside, pointing at the sandbag, "Come on, get up."

"I won't hit it." Shen Juanjuan pointed to the nearby sink, "I want to use a chair to smash the faucet, smashing it to pieces."

Chu Ya pursed his lips, "Shen Juanjuan, I've figured it out; you just want to argue with me, right?"

"Shen Miaomiao, I've figured it out; I don't want to argue, I just want to contradict you," Shen Juanjuan replied angrily.

Chu Ya couldn't help but laugh coldly, "Pretty honest."

"I'm not honest; I love lying," Shen Juanjuan retorted.

Chu Ya didn't say anything more, only half-closing his eyes as he looked at Shen Juanjuan.

He was always patient with Shen Juanjuan and rarely showed such an expression, which was not just anger but also impatience and coldness.

Shen Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, a hint of fear passing through his mind, yet he felt even angrier, pouting and staring at Chu Ya.

Chu Ya didn't hold his gaze for long, quickly turning away and pushing his wheelchair toward the gate. Shen Juanjuan watched his tense back, suddenly feeling a surge of panic.

"Where are you going? You can't leave." He rushed forward, blocking the wheelchair.

Chu Ya looked down at the ground, "You can't let me leave when you're angry at me? Move aside."

"No, I won't move aside; you can't leave." Shen Juanjuan spread his arms to block the wheelchair.

Chu Ya reached out to push him away, but Shen Juanjuan suddenly hugged his arm, shouting, "Shen Miaomiao, you can't leave, you can't leave."

Hearing the tremor in his voice and feeling the trembling body against his arm, Chu Ya stopped, sitting still in the wheelchair.

"Don't go, Shen Miaomiao, don't go." Shen Juanjuan's anger had dissipated, his eyes brimming with tears, looking both lost and wronged, "I feel so bad, I don't know why, I'm just so angry, I, I don't know, please don't go."

Chu Ya turned to look at him, seeing the child's face pale with fear, his heart softened. He sighed, reaching out to pull Shen Juanjuan into his arms, gently patting his back, "I'm just going to get a broom, not leaving."

Shen Juanjuan kept pleading, "I won't be angry at you, okay? Don't look at me like that, okay? I don't want you to look at me like that. Don't get the broom, okay? Don't dislike me, I'll change, I'll change."

Chu Ya felt a pang in his heart.

He knew that during the first half-month of differentiation, emotional fluctuations were the most intense. Without suppressants, even adults found it hard to control themselves and could easily harm others.

Occasionally, in Cloud Peak, there were incidents where sentinels or guides in their differentiation period injured people, usually because they entered the phase unknowingly and without taking suppressants during the most volatile stage. If adults could struggle so much, how much harder must it be for a six-year-old? Even when Shen Juanjuan was having an episode, he only smashed the sofa and his teddy bear, feeling regretful and scared afterward, saying he would change.

Chu Ya whispered, "This isn't your fault, it's mine. I know you didn't mean to, and I know you're suffering, but I didn't show you enough empathy. We just need to hold on for another ten days or so, and then you won't feel so bad, and your emotions will stabilize. Also, remember this: I will never dislike you, no matter how you vent or smash things, I will always like you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Will you run away?"

"No." Chu Ya casually patted the little tuft on his head.

Shen Juanjuan leaned against his arm, tears still welling in his eyes, but he smiled up at him, "Pet me again."

Chu Ya patted the other little tuft.

"Again."

Chu Ya continued.

Shen Juanjuan laughed, "I feel like a table—your quantum beast, it also wants to be petted, again and again."

Chu Ya was taken aback, "When?"

"Last night in my dream, I went to your place, planted wheat, and saw a big black dog inside. The dog ran away, and I chased it, then I saw your quantum beast."

Chu Ya asked, "Where did you see it?"

Shen Juanjuan pointed to the roof, "It was sleeping up there, but it was sick, shivering like you used to when you had a fever." Shen Juanjuan started shivering all over, adding, "I went to touch it, to check if it had a fever. It didn't have a fever, and it stopped shivering, but it wouldn't let me go, insisting I keep petting it."

Though he didn't elaborate much, Chu Ya understood. He raised his hand, lost in thought until Shen Juanjuan exaggeratedly shivered, pressing his head under his palm, "Pet me again, I'm shivering, I'm going to have a fever."

Shen Juanjuan waited until Chu Ya had petted his two chirping creatures before he walked towards the punching bag. With a loud "Ya!" he began to punch and kick at it.

"Ya! Ya! Ya... Class Two, use your strength, Class Two, cheer up..."

Chu Ya sat behind him all along, but he tilted his head in thought and then looked up at the ceiling. Shen Juanjuan kept hitting the punching bag until he was exhausted, then swayed as he turned around, his face and head drenched in sweat, and smiled foolishly at Chu Ya.

Chu Ya collected himself and asked, "Do you still feel bad now?"

"Hehe, no more."

Chu Ya extended his hand: "Come here."

As Shen Juanjuan walked over, he stumbled: "Ouch." Then he quickly steadied himself, grinning foolishly: "Haha, I almost fell, ha..."

Chu Ya pulled him into his lap and used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face, then asked him to open his mouth for inspection.

"Not bad, some of the teeth that fell out have grown back, turning the big gap into a small one."

Shen Juanjuan picked up the little bear beside him, hugged it, and kissed it, pressing his lips against its forehead, muttering in a voice only he could hear: "Little raccoon, I won't hit you either, I won't hit you."

In the afternoon, Chu Ya drew many raccoons, striving to depict various postures to form a complete image of a raccoon in Shen Juanjuan's mind.

He even drew several pictures of raccoons climbing trees, each with only slight differences. If flipped quickly, they would form a continuous scene of a raccoon climbing a tree.

He was also worried that force-feeding information might make Shen Juanjuan resist, so he only showed him the notebook when he was in a good mood, for just a few minutes, or mentioned it casually during their chats.

"What is your raccoon doing now?"

Shen Juanjuan tugged at the ears of his little bear: "It's listening to me talk."

Chu Ya snatched away the stuffed bear: "Where is it listening to you?"

"It's listening to me while climbing a tree," Shen Juanjuan replied quickly.

"What does a raccoon's head look like?"

Shen Juanjuan raised both hands to the sides of his head: "It has two small ears."

"Anything else?"

He framed his eyes with his fingers: "Its eyes are black and round."

After the questions, Shen Juanjuan sat on the steel ball car, his feet pushing back and forth on the ground, his head tilted to look at the notebook: "Raccoons are really beautiful." "Mm, your quantum beast is very beautiful," Chu Ya emphasized the words "your quantum beast."

"My quantum beast is a raccoon, hehe." After laughing twice, Shen Juanjuan asked, "Do you like me or do you like the raccoon?"

Though Shen Juanjuan seemed to ask casually, his eyes shone brightly as he looked at Chu Ya. Chu Ya's heart immediately went on high alert, knowing that this seemingly simple question couldn't be answered lightly.

He couldn't let Shen Juanjuan develop any sense of competition with the raccoon, not even a bit.

"I definitely like you the most, followed by the raccoon," Chu Ya replied.

Shen Juanjuan stopped rocking back and forth, looking at him expectantly: "How much do you like me?"

"A lot."

"How much is a lot?"

Chu Ya found the question abstract and could only say, "I don't know."

"Ah..."

"How should I answer? If I asked you this question, could you answer?" Chu Ya asked.

Shen Juanjuan replied without hesitation: "Yes."

"You can answer?"

"I like you so much, so much, more than a hundred times. So many quantum beasts, so many mutants, none of them like you as much as I do." Shen Juanjuan didn't know how to express his feelings, his face flushed red, and his hands stretched backward, "So much, so much, no child in the orphanage likes you as much as I do."

He used the number one hundred, which was the largest number he knew. His tone and expression were full of enthusiasm, and in those shining eyes, Chu Ya saw only his own reflection.

He remained silent, feeling something warm slowly flowing through his heart, making his chest warm and his heart soft and swollen.

"How much do you like me?" Shen Juanjuan leaned closer to Chu Ya and asked.

Before Chu Ya could speak, Shen Juanjuan understood and said, "You can't say it, right? Then let me ask you, if someone offered you ten glass balls to trade for me, would you trade?"

Chu Ya pressed his lips together and replied softly, "No."

Shen Juanjuan's expression brightened: "What about a hundred glass balls?"

"Still no."

"What about many hundreds?"

Chu Ya answered seriously, "Not even for many hundreds, not even for more than that, not even if all the glass balls from Cloud Peak and the Abyss were offered, I wouldn't trade."

"Hehe." Shen Juanjuan laughed twice, "So many glass balls, and you wouldn't trade? So many, you wouldn't trade."

"Mm, so many, I wouldn't trade."

"But I made you angry just now."

"Even if I'm angry, I wouldn't trade."

"Hehe, hehe... If I tell you I want a certain kid's black ball, will you go and get it for me? If I report someone to you, will you go and beat them up?"

Chu Ya wanted to say that taking things by force was wrong, but seeing Shen Juanjuan's nervous yet hopeful expression, he nodded involuntarily: "Whatever you want, I'll get it for you."

Shen Juanjuan said no more, only smiling at Chu Ya. As he smiled, his lips suddenly pouted.

"What's wrong?" Chu Ya asked.

Shen Juanjuan reached out to hug Chu Ya's waist, burying his face in his chest. Chu Ya tried to push him away to see, but Shen Juanjuan hugged him tighter and let out two sobs.

Chu Ya was momentarily bewildered, then quickly understood. He stopped trying to push Shen Juanjuan away, placing his left hand on his head and gently patting his back with his right.

After a long while, Shen Juanjuan had stopped sobbing but remained buried in Chu Ya's embrace: "It's so strange, why am I crying? I'm not sad, I wasn't sad at all, but I just want to cry."

He lifted his head, and Chu Ya wiped his tears with a handkerchief, speaking softly: "It's not strange at all."

"Why?"

"Because you're a crybaby."

Shen Juanjuan squirmed in his arms, and Chu Ya asked: "How many times have you cried today? Let me count, it must be at least three. Are you a crybaby?"

Shen Juanjuan mumbled: "Then I won't cry anymore, okay?"

Chu Ya looked down at the top of his head, his gaze very gentle: "It's fine, if you want to cry, just cry. Don't hold it in."

"Okay, I'll cry when I want to." Shen Juanjuan nodded, seeming to remember something, then added: "If you take things from other kids, they will be sad too. I don't want you to help me take things; we won't do that."

"Right, we won't," Chu Ya said.

"I won't throw tantrums either."

Chu Ya thought for a moment: "If you want to throw a tantrum, just do it. Don't hold it in."

Unbonded sentinels cannot actively release their mental energy, but during sleep, their consciousness becomes extremely active, and their mental energy is released involuntarily. So after falling asleep at night, Shen Juanjuan began his playtime, entering Chu Ya's mental domain.

He eagerly went to check on the little golden wheat he had planted, finding that the ear of wheat was growing well and even swayed happily when it saw him. To his delight, there were now over a dozen more ears of wheat beside it, though they were thin and weak, their faint golden glow seemed ready to fade at any moment.

"So many, how did you all grow so much?"

Shen Juanjuan planted them next to the larger ear, carefully removing the black aura from their surfaces, then happily turned around to admire them.

"You all must grow well. Shen Miaomiao likes wheat ears. When you grow up, I'll put you on his wheelchair; you look much better than the ones he picks."

While Shen Juanjuan was admiring the wheat ears he had planted, he noticed the big black dog had appeared behind him again, standing proudly in the storm as it had the previous night, with several black lines connected to its body.

Shen Juanjuan rushed over, but the big black dog leaped through the light gap, and he followed, emerging in the air above his courtyard, where he saw Shen Miaomiao's quantum beast trembling on the roof.

Tonight, the quantum beast turned directly toward him, propping its head up as if silently pleading. Shen Juanjuan nodded understandingly: "I know you like it when I pet your head. Okay, okay, I'll pet you, but you can't bite me."

Shen Juanjuan successfully calmed the Black Wolf and realized he had turned into a dark blob again. He quickly returned to his mental domain to call the raccoon.

This time, the small silver thread was barely probing the cocoon shell when it was yanked inside and vigorously rubbed and scrubbed.

"...Be gentler, I'm getting dizzy... Hey, don't stretch me out and step on me to brush..."

Chu Ya opened his eyes from sleep, seeing Shen Juanjuan still sound asleep beside him. He quietly got out of bed, leaning on his cane, and went to the door, stepping into the yard.

Rain was still drizzling from the sky. He looked up at the roof in the rain and struggled to stand on a nearby stool.

But there was nothing on the roof, only a small water tank. He turned to look around and saw a black shadow flash across the rooftops to the left, quickly disappearing behind the buildings.

Because Director Liu had brought a lot of food, Shen Juanjuan didn't go to the orphanage for the next few days. He did his homework and played under Chu Ya's company, and when he felt frustrated, he would punch the punching bag, without any further issues.

The Black Wolf seemed to know that Chu Ya had noticed something and didn't appear during the day for the past two days. Chu Ya didn't go to the yard at night either, only opening his eyes suddenly in the middle of the night, staring fixedly at the roof.

It wasn't until the third day that the Black Wolf reappeared, strolling around each room, lying on the sofa pretending to nap, and half-closing its eyes to observe Chu Ya.

"Back already? Did you go to Keke Mountain these past two days? Haven't seen you," Chu Ya asked naturally.

The Black Wolf didn't respond, only wagging its tail, but it was clearly less tense and relaxed, closing its eyes.

Chu Ya placed a plate of sliced bean cakes on the table, set out two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and called Shen Juanjuan, who was hitting the punching bag, to eat.

"Wash your hands first and wipe the sweat off your head."

Shen Juanjuan washed his hands and entered the house, immediately noticing the Black Wolf on the sofa, his face instantly turning unhappy.

"Why are you here again? I petted you last night, didn't we agree not to scare me?" Shen Juanjuan grumbled as he sat down at the table, picking up his bowl and chopsticks, "But I'm not afraid of you, you can't scare me anymore."

The Black Wolf glanced at Chu Ya, seeing he didn't mind the words, then also got up from the sofa and stood on the other side of the table.

"That's Shen Miaomiao's bowl, don't stand there," Shen Juanjuan said.

Seeing the Black Wolf didn't move, he changed the direction of the empty bowl and chopsticks, but the Black Wolf followed and moved to the other side.

"That's Shen Miaomiao's bowl."

Shen Juanjuan continued adjusting the direction of the bowl and chopsticks, but the Black Wolf also moved its position.

Shen Juanjuan frowned unhappily, and Chu Ya brought another set of empty bowl and chopsticks, "It's fine, that's for it. Mine is here."

Chu Ya sat down on the other side of Shen Juanjuan, putting pieces of sliced bean cakes into the three empty bowls. Shen Juanjuan asked softly, "Are you giving it some too?"

"Mm-hmm."

The Black Wolf extended a paw to pull the bowl of bean cakes in front of it but didn't eat, only looking at Shen Juanjuan with a hint of smugness in its eyes.

Shen Juanjuan, feeling indignant, kicked it under the table when Chu Ya wasn't paying attention. But before his foot could reach, the Black Wolf yelped and hobbled a few steps, then turned its head toward Chu Ya, lifting a paw to point at Shen Juanjuan.

"I didn't kick it, it's faking, I didn't kick it," Shen Juanjuan hurriedly defended himself.

Chu Ya sighed, "Don't kick it, just eat properly." Then he said to the Black Wolf, "Stop pretending, come and eat."

While the two were eating, the Black Wolf stood beside the table, occasionally pawing at the bowl of bean cakes.

"It's wasting food, and it hasn't eaten. Chief Administrator Chen said that wasting food is wrong," Shen Juanjuan whispered, biting his chopsticks.

"I'll help it eat later, so there won't be any waste."

Shen Juanjuan then looked at the Black Wolf on the other side. "I've already told you, humph. If you waste food, you'll end up in the punishment room."

The Black Wolf remained silent, but when Shen Juanjuan started eating the bean cakes, it swept its tail toward his stool.

The stool creaked, tilted, and then righted itself. Ignoring the near-fall, Shen Juanjuan excitedly reported to Chu Ya, "Did you see that? My stool moved, it really did! It kicked it, the stool moved, it was here just now, and now it's here, did you see?"

"I saw it, I saw it," Chu Ya sighed. "Both of you, one mustn't speak, and the other mustn't move. Finish this breakfast quietly."